All of this was further spurred on because a friend told me last night that he "just isn't a cabbage man"--dear ol' cabbage and I take that as a personal affront and a gauntlet thrown.
I looked to my new compendium of vegetable love, How to Cook Everything Vegetarian (more than 200 pages in the section on produce alone!), written by Mark Bittman, a writer for the NYT. His cabbage offerings were less than inspirational, but I flipped over to the Brussels Sprouts section (they are, after all, mini cabbages) and decided to adapt an "Indian-style treatment" of the tasty gems.
Ingredients:
1 head green cabbage--cored, chopped into bite-sized pieces (the size isn't too important)
About 1 Tbsp. olive oil for the pan
2-3 tsp. mustard
2-3 tsp. paprika/crushed red pepper flakes/black ground pepper (some like it hot)
1-2 Tbsp. Garam Masala (a slightly sweet mix of spices)
Real Salt
About 1/3 cup plain yogurt
2 tsp. coconut milk
Once I'd removed the older leaves from the outside of the cabbage and chopped the remaining, I rinsed it in our salad spinner. I left a good bit of moisture on the leaves.
I heated the olive oil over medium-high heat (a 6 out of 10) in an oversized skillet with a lid, then added about 1 tsp. each of the mustard and the pepper flakes and a generous sprinkling of the garam masala. I heated for about 1 minute until they became fragrant, then added the cabbage. I let it simmer for a bit, but had to pour off a bit of the water left from the leaves and add more spice. I should say that for this dish, the spiciness and flavor are really up to you. Add some spice, then try it; if the dish isn't flavorful enough, add more spice! X, Ladson, and I all agree it's best to be liberal with pepper.
After about five minutes, I added the yogurt and coconut milk. Bittman's recipe called for a cup of coconut milk, but I decided the yogurt substitution would be just as creamy without all the fat. I stirred, covered the skillet, and let it cook over higher heat (about an 8 out of 10) for 5 more minutes, until the cabbage was nice and soft. I cooked for a couple more minutes without the lid, until the whole melange was at my desired thickness.
In another skillet, I'd heated up a wild-caught salmon burger from Whole Foods. When everything was done, I put it on a small plate (this trick is recommended to help you avoid eating way TOO much of your healthy delicacy) and ate up. Not the most picturesque of vegetable meals, but certainly a delight to taste. A bit sweet, a hint of sour--not altogether removed from lemonade.
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About 1/3 cup plain yogurt
2 tsp. coconut milk
Once I'd removed the older leaves from the outside of the cabbage and chopped the remaining, I rinsed it in our salad spinner. I left a good bit of moisture on the leaves.
I heated the olive oil over medium-high heat (a 6 out of 10) in an oversized skillet with a lid, then added about 1 tsp. each of the mustard and the pepper flakes and a generous sprinkling of the garam masala. I heated for about 1 minute until they became fragrant, then added the cabbage. I let it simmer for a bit, but had to pour off a bit of the water left from the leaves and add more spice. I should say that for this dish, the spiciness and flavor are really up to you. Add some spice, then try it; if the dish isn't flavorful enough, add more spice! X, Ladson, and I all agree it's best to be liberal with pepper.
After about five minutes, I added the yogurt and coconut milk. Bittman's recipe called for a cup of coconut milk, but I decided the yogurt substitution would be just as creamy without all the fat. I stirred, covered the skillet, and let it cook over higher heat (about an 8 out of 10) for 5 more minutes, until the cabbage was nice and soft. I cooked for a couple more minutes without the lid, until the whole melange was at my desired thickness.
In another skillet, I'd heated up a wild-caught salmon burger from Whole Foods. When everything was done, I put it on a small plate (this trick is recommended to help you avoid eating way TOO much of your healthy delicacy) and ate up. Not the most picturesque of vegetable meals, but certainly a delight to taste. A bit sweet, a hint of sour--not altogether removed from lemonade.
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Love the photo! And to think I just threw out a cabbage. For the guac, do you recommend red onion??
ReplyDeleteRed onion is great! It definitely brings fun flavor :)
ReplyDeleteDear Sarah - Clearly, you know things about cabbage that I don't. I will give it a second chance and try your recipe.
ReplyDeleteJohn, a Cabbage Convert